Stephen A. Douglas

Front Cover
University of Illinois Press, 1973 - Biography & Autobiography - 993 pages
Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians
For the quarter-century before 1860 Stephen A. Douglas was a dominant
figure on the American political scene, far outshadowing Abraham Lincoln.
This first paperback printing of Robert Johannsen's authoritative biography
features a new preface.
"At once a work of enormous scholarship and of deep insight. Here,
for the first time, is the full story of a great career, told with such
skill that we can now understand why Abraham Lincoln found the 'Little
Giant' the most formidable political rival he ever faced." -- David
H. Donald, author of Lincoln and two-time winner of the Pulitzer
Prize
"Well-organized and marvelously detailed. . . . The book demonstrates
the virtues of large-scale, straightforward narrative biography at its
best. Its completeness and objectivity will make it the standard authority
for many years to come." -- Richard N. Current, The New York Times
Book Review
"Superb. . . . Will doubtless stand as the definitive biography
of Stephen A. Douglas for this generation." -- Hans L. Trefousse,
The Journal of American History
"An impressive work--impressive in scope, in research, and in maturity
of understanding. . . . Johannsen has constructed a biography that is
rich in detail and full of conviction." -- James Z. Rabun, The
Journal of Southern History
"Should take its place in the tradition of magisterial biographies
. . . in which so much of the best writing on American history is to be
found." -- Harry V. Jaffa, National Review
"The research is amazingly exhaustive and the writing is unusually
readable. . . . Outstanding biography of a quality not often matched."
-- LeRoy H. Fischer, Manuscripta
Supported by the Dickerson Fund of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

From inside the book

Selected pages

Contents

Here I first learned to love liberty 18131833
3
I have become a Western man 18331836
16
The voice of the many and the doctrine of equal rights 18351837
36
An utter aversion to Hard Cider 18371840
61
The common law is a beautiful system 18401843
88
A Presidentmaking session 18431844
112
Polk Dallas and Texas 18441845
137
I would make this an oceanbound republic 18451846
158
By the light of my own effigy 18541855
435
We must make a fight for principles 1855
465
No compromise with the enemy 1856
488
Buck and Breck Douglas and Democracy 1856
521
Kansas Utah and the Dred Scott Decision 18561857
545
This flagrant violation of popular rights 18571858
576
I shall have my hands full 1858
614
Glory to God and the Sucker Democracy 18581859
645

A just war 18461847
186
The vexed question of slavery in new territories 18471848
206
Noninterference is the true doctrine 18481849
235
The Union will not be put in peril 18491850
262
The common ground of justice and compromise 1850
283
The spirit of the age 18501853
304
Young America 1852
339
The organization of Nebraska is a national necessity 18521853
374
I passed the Kansas Nebraska Act myself 1854
401
I will make no sacrifice of principle 1859
680
There is no better Democrat than I 18591860
715
Secession from the Democratic party means secession from the Union 1860
749
To preserve the glorious Union against Northern and Southern agitators 1860
774
Compromise on the basis of mutual concession or disunion and war 18601861
808
Tell them to obey the laws and support the Constitution of the United States 1861
840
Notes
875
Index
967
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